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BOX SCORE
PHOENIX (AP) -- Keith Tkachuk knew the Phoenix Coyotes couldn't
afford another loss, especially not to the team they were trying to
catch in the standings.
|  | | San Jose goalie Steve Shields sprawls to make a save on Phoenix's Keith Tkachuk, but the Coyotes captain later got the go-ahead goal. |
So "Captain Coyote" did something about it.
The rugged left winger scored the go-ahead goal in the third
period and assisted on Teppo Numminen's eventual game-winner Sunday
as Phoenix snapped a four-game losing streak with a 4-3 win over
the San Jose Sharks.
"We needed it huge," Tkachuk said. "When things go bad, they
really go bad for us. There's no happy medium there. We got this
win under our belt, so we should be all right."
The win put Phoenix back ahead of San Jose into first place in
the Pacific Division by one point.
Tkachuk broke a 2-2 tie 7:29 into the third when he pounced on a
loose puck in the neutral zone, skated in and beat Sharks goalie Steve Shields on the far side with a wrist shot from high in the slot.
Tkachuk's 15th goal gave Phoenix its first lead and then helped
on the insurance score 3:19 later. Tkachuk spun and sent a pass to
Dallas Drake, whose shot bounced off Shields to Numminen near the
crease.
Greg Adams scored Phoenix's first goal and assisted on one by Travis Green 28 seconds into the third period that tied it at 2.
"We battled back all game," Tkachuk said. "I think we showed
a lot of character by playing solid."
"Once we got going, we went with the momentum," Adams said.
"We took away their time and they coughed up the puck."
Jeff Friesen, Owen Nolan and Mike Ricci scored for the Sharks.
Ricci made it a one-goal game when he beat Bob Essensa with 2:34
remaining.
The Sharks were unable to pull Shields for a sixth skater, and
the Coyotes won by holding the puck in the San Jose zone the entire final minute.
Friesen's goal came on a power play 15:58 into the first period.
Nolan flipped a pass behind the net to Friesen, who skated to the
left post and shot the puck over Essensa's left shoulder.
Adams also scored with the man advantage, redirecting a shot by
Numminen 4:16 into the second period.
Nolan put the Sharks back on top 10:14 into the second with his 23rd goal.
"I thought we had two good periods. We played hard and we were
playing good down low," said Jeff Norton of the Sharks. "And then
we missed a couple of coverages and that was it, which has been
happening far too often."
Sharks backup goalie Mike Vernon was sick and did not make the
trip. San Jose called up rookie Evgeni Nabokov from Cleveland of
the IHL to be Shields' backup.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
San Jose Clubhouse
Phoenix Clubhouse
San Jose's Nolan earned his fast start
RECAPS
Phoenix 4
San Jose 3
NY Islanders 5
New Jersey 3
NY Rangers 5
Tampa Bay 4
Nashville 1
Philadelphia 1
Anaheim 3
Detroit 1
Ottawa 3
Edmonton 3
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Travis Green puts the puck in for Phoenix.
avi: 593 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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